Residents of a posh town which has one of the highest rates of property millionaires in the country have told how they face having to leave the area they were born.
MailOnline spoke to locals in the regions with the highest and lowest number of property millionaires – those whose homes are worth more £1million or more.
It comes after new data released by Savills showed that the number of property millionaires in Britain has increased by a third over the past five years, and by around 3,127 last year alone.
Residents of the North East where property prices are the lowest in the UK told MailOnline ‘Londoners look down on people who live in Newcastle’ and the region needs more investment.
They blamed the end of the mining industry for a lack of jobs and said the region has some of the lowest wages in the country.
Meanwhile those living in Sevenoaks, Kent complained they could barely afford a semi-detached house for £1million and raised concerns about how future generations will afford to live in the area.
In total there are now 702,580 homes valued at £1million or more across Great Britain – or one in 42.
There are 349,068 £1million-plus properties in London alone, making up one in every 11 homes.
The affluent town of Sevenoaks has one of the highest rates of £1million homes in the UK, but locals complained the area is too expensive
Chris Mason, 72, said: ‘The property here is too expensive. It’s gone too high. I fear for future generations and how locals and young people are going to get on the property ladder at the moment’
The town of Sevenoaks is considered the wealthiest area of Kent, with some of the highest house prices in the UK.
The road of Parkfield is private and full of huge homes, valued at millions, with swimming pools and properties there sell regularly for over £4million.
James Storey, partner at Knight Frank estate agents in Sevenoaks, said the most expensive home he had sold was for just over £5million.
He said: ‘People are coming to Sevenoaks, often leaving London, because they want more space.
‘There’s brilliant schools, both private and state, here in Sevenoaks and education is a big driving factor for people.
‘There’s excellent transport links as well. You can get into London in 30 minutes but it does not have that busy feeling of central London.
‘Sevenoaks also has a great quality of life. You’ve got beautiful parks, golf courses, a real broad selection of bars, restaurants and pubs.
‘It’s got that thriving market town feeling. It has a Waitrose, always a bonus, and a lot of independent cafes. It’s fantastic.’
Mr Storey said those benefits do come with a price though.
He added: ‘There’s supply and demand here. If you’re looking for a detached home, with four bedrooms, it’s going to be at least £1.25million.
Sevenoaks, an affluent area of Kent, is filled with large houses and private roads home to the rich and famous
In Sevenoaks large mansions are located in gated residences with winding long roads lined with trees
James Storey, partner at Knight Frank estate agents in Sevenoaks, said the most expensive home he had sold was for just over £5million
Pam Goddard lives locally and also rents out a £320,000 property in the town – she said prices have become ‘unrealistic’
The road of Parkfield is private and full of huge homes, valued at millions, with swimming pools and properties there sell regularly for over £4million
‘The most expensive home I sold recently was just over £5million. It is an expensive place to live. But there’s enormous benefits to that.
‘You would consider having £1million to spend on a home to be a lot. It is an amazing budget to have. But here it would only get you a semi detached property.’
But Sevenoaks locals complained the area has become ‘too expensive’ and completely unaffordable for young people.
Chris Mason, 72, said: ‘The property here is too expensive. It’s gone too high. I fear for future generations and how locals and young people are going to get on the property ladder at the moment.
‘Prices have certainly got up. The value of my home has gone up in recent years. There’s a lot of attractions to Sevenoaks, good transport and schools for a start. I can get into London in 30 minutes and that’s brilliant.’
Pam Goddard lives locally and also rents out a £320,000 property in the town.
The 75-year-old said: ‘I feel for people now because it is expensive. People who have worked so hard and are trying to get on the property ladder.
‘The prices are going up and up. I am not sure how long that can last. It’s so expensive. It is unrealistic.’
Construction manager Paul Winfield, 45, said the value of his property had increased to nearly £1million.
He said: ‘I bought it for £850,000 a few years ago so that is a very nice increase. It’s a large semi-detached home.
‘Sevenoaks is great. I love it. It’s changing and it is expensive. But you get a lot. It’s a town but does not have that busy city feel.’
Mark Steels, 69, has lived in the town for 30 years and said his home had increased in value 30 percent in that time.
Mark Steels, 69, has lived in the town for 30 years and said his home had increased in value 30 percent in that time
Sevenoaks was described as having a great quality of life, with lots of local transport links into London
Sevenoaks locals complained the area has become ‘too expensive’ and completely unaffordable for young people
Many of Sevenoaks most expensive homes are situated in private communities
He said: ‘It’s got everything you need really. Great schools, transport, it’s so close to London. It has amazing parks.
‘I really love it. I think you get what you pay for.’
Meanwhile the average price for a terraced property in Tyne and Wear stands at £179k and Newcastle locals say the region suffers from a lack of opportunity.
Psychology professor Larry Taylor used to live in leafy Jesmond on the outskirts of Newcastle before moving to the city centre.
But the 41-year-old suspects high crime levels in the area have played a big part in cheap house prices compared to the rest of the country.
Larry, originally from Texas, said: ‘The figures are reflected by the reputation nationally that people in London look down on people in Newcastle.
‘Also if you go ten miles in any direction from Newcastle you’re in the countryside where everything is spread out.
‘The North East was undercut economically in the 1980s and it takes time to recover from those days so places are cheaper.
‘I live next door to the Gate leisure complex and I remember looking up the crime statistics for the neighbourhood and it was bad.
‘There are a lot of drugs problems here particular in the city centre. If you undercut the coal mining industry like they did here, people will struggle to find work.
‘I’m not saying that turned everyone into criminals. But if people can’t eat and don’t have a safe place to go, they are going to start behaving unpredictably.
‘I lived in Jesmond for ten years but even that was really cheap.’
Retired accounts worker Ruth Milne lived all across the UK before she returned to her home in the north east, where she is now settled on the outskirts of Newcastle
Call centre worker Kyle Letham moved to the north east from his home city of Glasgow seven years ago
Sports and exercise student Ty Hanneman moved to Newcastle from his home in Colorado and was attracted to the north east due to its cheap living rates
Call centre worker Kyle Letham moved to the North East from his home city of Glasgow seven years ago.
The 35-year-old said: ‘I’m not surprised by the stats because this area is famously cheap, particularly Gateshead.
‘Newcastle does have poor areas around the city but I moved here for work so I didn’t have much choice.
‘People in London get paid more to compensate for the higher prices. The real living wage down there is a lot higher than it is here so that affects it.
‘That goes for other countries as well, they haver higher tax but higher wages which affects house prices.
‘Minimum wage went up by about nine per cent last year so I’m not sure if more investment can be put into this area.’
Army veteran and current warehouse worker Richard Yates has three years left to work before he plans on leaving the UK to move to Spain.
The southeast comes in second with 159,973, compared to just 2,746 in the northeast – the area with the fewest property millionaires.
While not surprised by the North East data, the 60-year-old thinks parts of Yorkshire are even less expensive to live.
He said: ‘I lived in Yorkshire for two years and the cheapest place I lived in was Leeds.
‘I bought my house here which cost me £150,000 in 1982 but I had one in Leeds which was £38,000 but that’s because it’s the burglary capital of the north.
‘I would still have said this place is definitely one the cheapest in the country though. Houses go for less than £20,000 where there is no work, and there’s not enough of that around here.
Army veteran and current warehouse worker Richard Yates has three years left to work before he plans on leaving Newcastle to move to Spain
Larry Taylor told MailOnline that Londoners ‘look down on people from Newcastle’ and said the area needs more investment
‘Only places like Darras Hall and Ponteland will have houses worth £1million.
‘They are building homes up here but the problem is the houses are built by companies who bang the prices too high for what people can afford and they end up being empty.
‘There should be more investment and infrastructure here. Most of the business has gone. There is one business park in the west of the city but most of the places there are empty.’
Retired accounts worker Ruth Milne lived all across the UK before she returned to her home in the north east, where she is now settled on the outskirts of Newcastle.
The 74-year-old said: ‘It’s not surprising at all that this has the least amount of £1million homes.
‘Everything we pay out on tax and bills ends up in London and there is a lack of investment here. It would be good to see more apprentices and opportunities for younger people to come and work here.
‘I came back to Newcastle after about 20 years and I’ve been all over and this is definitely cheaper than other places.’
Sports and exercise student Ty Hanneman moved to England from his home in Colorado and was attracted to the North East due to its cheap living rates.
The 19-year-old, who lives above a Tesco in Gateshead centre, said: ‘I’ve been here for a year-and-a-half and from my experience here it is way more affordable.
‘Other places I looked at were a lot more expensive to rent. I looked at Manchester but that was expensive. I looked at some schools in London but it also seemed really expensive to rent around there.’
Ty added: ‘There have been some moments here I’ve felt a little nervous and uneasy in terms of the crime here.
‘But it’s not just house and rent prices that are cheap, the supermarkets and general living costs are lower here.’
One woman, who didn’t want to be named, added: ‘I’m not surprised about this at all.
‘All of the industry that made this place successful disappeared in the 1980s.
‘There has been some investment in the area since then but it hasn’t made up for the jobs and opportunities that were lost in this area.
‘There are a lot of students here which make prices quite stable but overall it’s far cheaper than the rest of the UK.’
